Honestly $76,000 plus gold standard benefits packages, plus 16% raise, and striking Chicago teachers demand more. That's essentially 10 months of work for $88,100 plus benefits. If they worked a 12-month schedule at the same rate, they would be making $105,792 per year. And the teachers union is not happy with this offer? The graduation rate in Chicago is 60%. And people wonder why no one trusts trying to collectively bargain with insane demands of unions like this one.

David Henderson

Why is it unreasonable to pay professional workers professional salaries? This argument is not about salaries. It is about an unfair evaluation system. Basing a teacher evaluation, even in part, on what kids do on one test on one day is ludicrous.

It gets really old to hear the public attitude that teachers don't want to do their job and that's why they don't agree with pay for performance. Evaluate me, please! But evaluate me fairly. I have no control over what happens to my students when they leave my classroom, and we all know that kids are very tender.

Many of them deal with unspeakable things outside school. So if they have a bad day, and some will on test day, is that really something to blame on teachers?

Their points for walking the picket line in this economy are out of bounds. Unions are fast outliving their usefulness in today's world, and I say this after being in the Teamster's union at three different employers.

With the Chicago School Board being in the red financially, Chicago teachers need to realize who signs their paychecks. It's not their union!

Jim Clements; Topeka, Kan.

Chicago's striking teachers may fail your sympathy test, but there is a very important aspect of standardized testing many ignore. Most teachers would be open to incorporating the test results in the evaluation process if certain guidelines were in place. Any standardized tests given in May/June should first be given in September/October. Then true progress can be measured for that child that year, with that teacher. Accountability of teachers using standardized test scores needs to be fair. It currently is not. It can be fixed. Is anybody listening?